Zapier MCP for the Anthropic API: setup with a token

Connect the Anthropic Messages API to Zapier MCP by creating a server and generating a connection token, then adding Zapier to mcp_servers in your request.

This page shows how to use Zapier MCP tools in Anthropic API requests using a connection token.

Before you begin

• A Zapier account.
• An Anthropic API key.

Connect the Anthropic API to Zapier MCP

1. Create an MCP server

   • Go to mcp.zapier.com.
   • Click Add MCP server.
   • Under Choose your AI agent, search for and select Anthropic API.
2. Generate a connection token

   • Select the Settings tab.
   • In the API token section, click Generate token.
   • Copy the Token.

   The token is only shown once. If you lose it, click Rotate token to get a new one. The previous token stops working straight away, so update anywhere you used it.

   Treat your connection token like a password. Anyone with the token, or with a server URL that contains it, can run tools on this server and access your data.

3. Set your credentials as environment variables

   export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
   export ZAPIER_MCP_TOKEN="YOUR_ZAPIER_MCP_TOKEN"
   
4. Send a request with Zapier as an MCP server

   Add Zapier to the mcp_servers array, and reference it from an mcp_toolset tool. The request reads your keys from the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and ZAPIER_MCP_TOKEN environment variables:

   cURL

   curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -H "X-API-Key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
     -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
     -H "anthropic-beta: mcp-client-2025-11-20" \
     -d '{
       "model": "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929",
       "max_tokens": 1000,
       "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What tools do you have available?"}],
       "mcp_servers": [{
         "type": "url",
         "url": "https://mcp.zapier.com/api/v1/connect",
         "name": "zapier",
         "authorization_token": "'"$ZAPIER_MCP_TOKEN"'"
       }],
       "tools": [{
         "type": "mcp_toolset",
         "mcp_server_name": "zapier"
       }]
     }'
   

   JavaScript

   Install the Anthropic SDK:

   npm install @anthropic-ai/sdk
   

   Or with pnpm:

   pnpm add @anthropic-ai/sdk
   

   Send the request:

   import { Anthropic } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
   
   const anthropic = new Anthropic({
     apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
   });
   
   const response = await anthropic.beta.messages.create({
     model: "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929",
     max_tokens: 1000,
     messages: [
       {
         role: "user",
         content: "What tools do you have available?",
       },
     ],
     mcp_servers: [
       {
         type: "url",
         url: "https://mcp.zapier.com/api/v1/connect",
         name: "zapier",
         authorization_token: process.env.ZAPIER_MCP_TOKEN,
       },
     ],
     tools: [
       {
         type: "mcp_toolset",
         mcp_server_name: "zapier",
       },
     ],
     betas: ["mcp-client-2025-11-20"],
   });
   
   console.log(JSON.stringify(response, null, 2));
   

   Python

   Install the Anthropic SDK:

   pip install anthropic
   

   Or with uv:

   uv pip install anthropic
   

   Send the request:

   import os
   
   import anthropic
   
   client = anthropic.Anthropic(
       # API key defaults to os.environ.get("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY")
   )
   
   response = client.beta.messages.create(
       model="claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929",
       max_tokens=1000,
       messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What tools do you have available?"}],
       mcp_servers=[
           {
               "type": "url",
               "url": "https://mcp.zapier.com/api/v1/connect",
               "name": "zapier",
               "authorization_token": os.environ["ZAPIER_MCP_TOKEN"],
           }
       ],
       tools=[
           {
               "type": "mcp_toolset",
               "mcp_server_name": "zapier",
           }
       ],
       betas=["mcp-client-2025-11-20"],
   )
   
   print(response)
   

   For request options, check Anthropic’s MCP connector documentation.

You’ve now connected the Anthropic API to Zapier MCP.

Next steps

How tools work

What each meta-tool does, and how dynamic tool discovery works.

How connections work

How connection tokens work, and how to manage them.